Toy submarine



Feb. 9, 1954 R. w. FREDERlcKs TOY SUBMARINE Filed Aug. 20, 1951 INVNTOv R. W'Eederz'ofs N y Il 1 m .0* Wllhnllliflfmwnnny s I .1llllllilllll` .s mm `j llw .i H lllllr EA y- 1 u QM. .WN

ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 9p, 1954 UNITED sTA'ri-:sl PATENT OFFICE" rROY SUBMARINE Robert W. Fredericks, Kansas City, Mo., assigner to Charles W. Creighton, Jr.,- Salem, Oreg.

Application August 20, 19591, Serial No. 242,635v

I Claim. (Cl. 46-95) U This invention relates to a toy submarine.

An object of this invention is to provide a toy submarine which upon being placed in water is adapted to submerge and to thereafter rise close to or upon the surface and move about the Water.

Another object of this invention is to provide a toy submarine with an improved propulsion means therefor which is made active when the submarine becomes initially filled with water.

A further object of this invention is to provide a toy submarine including an initially open hatch for permitting air in thebody of the submarine to be expelled as the submarine initially fills with water, the hatch being held open by a gas generating pellet and being released for automatic movement to a closed position when said pellet initially disintegrates whereby gas pressure may build up for expelling the water and the submarine will be propelled about the water by jet action of the escaping gas.

With the above and other objects in view,niy invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of constructiondisclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section partly broken away and in elevation of a toy submarine constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view looking down on the hatch cover.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3. Y Referring to the drawing the numeral I desighates generally a hull structure provided with a stern l I and a bow or forward end I2. An imitation conning tower I3 is mounted on and extends upwardly from the deck i4 and an imitation tubular periscope I rises from the conning tower I3. The interior of the hull I0 has disposed therein a housing generally designated as I6 which forms a chamber Il. The housing I6 is formed of a bottom wall I8, opposite side Walls I9, opposite end walls and 2| and an upper wall 22. The upper wall 22 is secured to or disposed in contacting relation with the lower side of the deck I4. The end wall 20 which is the rear end wall of the housing I6 has secured thereto a rearwardly projecting tube 23 which extends through the stern II and forms a jet nozzle 24 disposed on the outer side of the stern II. The tube 23 is positioned at a point above the bottom wall I8, the purpose for which will be hereinafter described. `A second tube 25 is secured at its forward end to the bow I2, opening through the latter, and the rear or inner portion of the tube 25 is connected by a reduced diameter tube 2l to the Wall 2| which is the front wall of the housing I3. The tube 25 is preferably formed of relatively exible or elastic material, and the rear of the tube 25 has a ap or check valve 2l secured thereto which is adapted to be normally disposed in contacting relation with a valve Yseat 23 so as to close the passage from the chamber I 'i through the tube 26 to the tube 25.

An imitation torpedo 29 is adapted to be initially disposed within the tube 25, and the stern 30 of the torpedo 29 is adapted to engage the ap valve 27 so as to hold this valve in open position as shown in Figure l. The torpedo 23 is substantially smaller in diameter than the interior diameter of the tube 25, and a ring 3l is disposed about the torpedo 29 and frictionally engages the inner surface of the tube 25 so that water will be held against entering the chamber Il when the torpedo 29 is disposed Within the tube 25.

The deck I4 is provided with a hatch opening 32, and a hatch cover 33 having a rubber gasket 34 is disposed above the deck I4 and is adapted when in closed position to close the opening 32p. The deck I4 is provided with an annular ring 35 which is engageable within an annular groove 3B formed in the gasket 34.

The upper side of the hatch cover 33 is formed with a recess 31 within which the lower end of a coil spring 38 is adapted to engage. The coil spring 38 is carried by a pair of parallel bars 39 formed with right angular extensions 40 at one end thereof which are pivotally mounted in upstanding bearings 4I secured to the upper side of the deck I4.

The opposite ends of the bars 39 are also provided with right angular extensions 42, and the extensions 42 are connected together by means of a connecting bar 43.

A pair of latch hooks 44 are secured to the deck I4 and are adapted to hold the connecting bar 43 in a position whereby the spring 38 will be under tension so as to constantly urge the cover 33 downwardly to a closed position. The cover 33 is initially held in an open position whereby air may be expelled from the chamber I'I by means of an inverted frusto-conical pellet 45. The pellet 45 is seated on a platform or plate 4B suspended by means of supporting bars d1 from the top wall 22.

The small lower end of the pellet 45 engages within the ring 48 mounted on the plate or platform 46 so that the pellet will be held concentrically of the hatch opening 32. The hatch cover 33 has projecting from the lower side thereof a plurality of vertically disposed bars 43 formed with pointed lower ends 50 which initially engage on the upper side of the pellet 45 at a point closely adjacent the outer or marginal edge of the pellet so that when the pellet begins to disintegrate by action of the water thereon and the chemicals of which the pellet is composed the pointed lower ends of the bars t9 will'cut through or break the upper marginal edgeA of the pellet so that the hatch cover 33 may move downwardly under the tension of spring 38 to a closed position.

The pellet 45 is a gasiiable pellet which is adapted to generate gasupon contact of water therewith, and this pellet as an example is composed of one part citric acid and three parts acid sodium carbonate.

In theJ use and operation of this submarine the pellet 45 is disposed on the platform 45, and the hatch cover 33 is placed under the tension ci spring 33 with the bars 49 at the lower ends 50 resting on the rim of the pellet d5 as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

When the submarine engages in the water the `latter will enter the housing it through the tube 23, and chamber Il will initially be substantially lled with water. The air in chamber Il will be expelled by the incoming water through the open hatch cover opening 32. As soon as the pellet 45 begins to generate gas, the thin marginal upper edge thereof will be broken off by the bars 49 so that the hatch cover 33 will move downwardly under tension of spring 38 to a closed position.

As the gas continues to generate in chamber Il the gas will produce a pressure which will expel water from the tube 23 and the jet nozzle 24, and as tube 2S is substantially larger than tube 23, the pressure of water will force the torpedo 29 forwardly and out of the tube 25. When torpedo 29 is expelled from tube 25 check valve 21 will drop downwardly to a closed position. With check valve 21 in closed position the only opening from which the remaining water may be expelled is through tube 23, and when the water is expelled to the level of tube 23, the gasA will then be expelled through tube 23 and jet nozzle 24.

At this time the hull IU will rise in the water to a point substantially flush with the water surface, and the gases being expelled through the jet nozzle 24 will eiiect forward movement `marine hull, a chamber formed in said hull, a

tube connected between the prow of said hull and said chamber, an outwardly closing check valve in said tube, a simulated torpedo in said tube normally holding said valve in open position, a second tube connected between said chamber and the stern of said hull, said second tube providing means for initial admission of water into said chamber and constituting a jet member, a cover for said chamber normally spring biased toward closed position, a gas generating element, and means supporting said -element in said chamber in a position to initially hold said cover in open position. to permit initial exhaustion of air from said chamber during the lling of said chamber with water, wetting of said element causing disintegration thereof to permit closing of said cover under spring .pressure and causing the generation of gas to produce gas pressure in said chamber whereby Water in said chamber will be forced through said iirstnamed tube to discharge said torpedo, said check valve closing with the discharge of said torpedo whereby pressure will build up in said chamber for discharge through said. second tube to thereby propel said hull through the water. said gas generating element comprising a water soluble pellet of inverted frusto-conical shape providing a thin upper marginal edge. said hatch cover including downwardly projecting pointed bars engaging said marginal edge under the bias of said spring, whereby upon partial dissolution of the upper edge of said pellet said bars serve to fracture said edge to permit a sudden closure of said hatch before complete dissolution of said pellet.

ROBERT W. FREDERICKS.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Sept. 7, 1917 

